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Speak Up Survey, Project Tomorrow 2014

Digital media is woven into the fabric of most students’ lives. Each month the percentage of students with access to laptops, tablets or smartphones increases. Today's careers require technology knowledge and skills. Effective use of media accelerates and individualizes learning. Solutions that effectively blend academic standards and subjects with the power of media and technology are rare.

AwesomeStories turns powerful stories into an effective 21st century learning model, meeting the common core challenge with engagement and depth.

What drove the events of the story?

What is the evidence of its occurrence?

What was the character of the people involved, the place and times?

Given available technology to teachers and learners, students can explore elements of the original story and of the primary sources related to it. Original speeches in the presidents hand, radio interviews with related characters, images, videos, and Mini Stories on related topics all contribute to the learner developing their own understanding of events. Authentic media assets from the time of the original story, provide technology usage that blends with academic goals.

AwesomeStories provides the resources for student to research these questions with reliable content, and goes further to present Common Core standards-driven tasks that teachers can assign to students or that students may complete on their own.

As interest and understanding build, learners reflect on deeper questions. Exploring related subjects, they sometimes find interests that can drive their further education or career.

In these ways AwesomeStories provides a learning laboratory that supports lifelong learning in any subject or grade.

Technology and media integration are now required by states and schools and districts. The AwesomeStories platform is a tool for effective teacher instruction and student research and learning. AwesomeStories is also an exemplary professional development model enabling teachers to meet ISTE, AASL, and other instructional technology standards.

Bridge exciting, highly produced and high-interest films to learning.

With video games, social media, and good old-fashioned films and TV, students see high quality, professionally produced media every day. They expect to see high quality media in education as well. When they see "produced for school" documentaries, pedantic and sometimes of less than studio quality video, many students may discount what they see or disconnect from their learning environment.

AwesomeStories capitalizes on the plethora of top quality stories produced for the public at great expense with enormous appeal and entertainment value. These same film stories spring from real situations that can be researched to provide the context, the "story behind the story".

Leveraging "Red Tails" the movie, for example, AwesomeStories can teach about the challenges of World War II, our U.S. History of discrimination, leadership issues, pilot knowledge and skill requirements including the physics of flying and more. The movie becomes a far deeper experience, and the learning can become highly personalized to each student.

Today's students have developed media savvy exceeding their parents. Providing the best quality media to students and integrating it into their learning plans, shows a respect for them that enables them to feel important and empowered. Without the best media available, the learning is less powerful.

"Speak Up" is the national survey of technology and media use by students undertaken each year on a massive level by "Project Tomorrow." See their 2013 Congressional Briefing on K12 Students for useful view learning today and tomorrow.